Long Beach printmaker brings “Serial Possibilities” to Brandstater

The depiction of a carafe, a nickel, a box and other things in Gertrude Stein's poem “Objects” appealed to artist Kimiko Miyoshi, so much so that the literary work forms the basis for much of Miyoshi's Brandstater Gallery exhibit.

“I was inspired by the way she ambiguously describes things,” said the printmaker. Miyoshi is an assistant art professor at California State University, Long Beach and experienced exhibitor whose works have appeared at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, N.M., the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, and Plan B in Santa Fe, N.M. Her background in printmaking began under the tutelage of Tokuzo Okabe, a master silkscreen printer in Miyoshi's native Japan. She grew up there studying humanities and art as a child.

Miyoshi's show, “Serial Possibilities,” opened Feb. 20 at La Sierra University's Brandstater Gallery and will run through March 15 with an artist's reception March 12, 6 - 8 p.m. The exhibit consists of 30 lithographs, silkscreened prints, incised drawings, relief prints and other works. Admission is free. Brandstater Gallery hours are Mon. - Thurs., 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sun., 2 - 5 p.m. The gallery is located at the Visual Art Center 112, Building 1. For further information call 951-785-2170.

Miyoshi aims “to transform insignificant objects or mundane phenomena into seductive art works that challenge the hierarchical status of things and their socially assigned values,” she states in her biography. For instance, delicate images of paint tubes appear almost translucent and dreamlike, perhaps etched into an old stained glass panel, or trapped, floating in swirled, colored ice.

Miyoshi decided upon her artistic medium because the “process-oriented quality, like science,” of printmaking appealed to her. She feels more of a “kinship” with the hands-on method of printmaking rather than the modern digital applications, and she plans to “keep the torch burning” by teaching such methods to her students. In so doing, she passes along key lessons and insights from her former teacher, Okabe--“[have] a sense of care. Pay attention to details. Don't be lazy,” Miyoshi says.

Miyoshi has given printmaking workshops in Los Angeles and New York and collaborated with artists creating intaglio and silk-screen prints in these cities, her biography states. Her work also appears in public collections in universities and museums in the United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Australia, and several sites in the United States including the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

PR Contact: Larry Becker

Executive Director of University Relations

La Sierra University

Riverside, California

951.785.2460 (voice)